A lot of random things going on right now. There’s a Remora show next Wednesday. Also on the bill are Electric Bird Noise, Clang Quartet, Tesla Recoils, & Bret Hart. Should be a good one of all of us 40+ noise/drone geezers. Still trying to get the Remora set I have planned functional. Then next Thursday we’re doing a Space Sweeper recording session (me, Brian McKenzie, & Ted Johnson). Last time we made something good enough to release, hopefully that will happen again this time.
So I had a problem where my emails to the city (I’m on a local commission) were bouncing. Ends up they use a place called SORBS as their spam filter & I’d been blacklisted. It took a while to figure out how to contact them & it ends up someone reported me to them as a spammer two times (presumably two newsletters, can’t you just request to be taken off the list?). The company offers you to be removed from their blacklist by paying a fee, but they waived it for me since it was the first time I had contacted them. Kinda weird.
Some of you may know the guy I refer to as my little brother, Joseph Hausman. Anyway, he recently moved to Albuquerque & moved into a musician house, so some recordings from him may come into existence.
I got contacted by a guy putting together a comic anthology & I’m trying to get something done for it. He also has a gig were he makes video trailers for comics & he’s going to start using some of the Silber catalog as the background music for them. The guy is full of enthusiasm, but somehow it doesn’t really make my jaded old man heart beat faster. Instead I’m just waiting to watch him give up. Which is kind of a bad attitude & I’m trying to turn it around.
Put three new 5in5s in the cue for Spotify, still need to get them ready on the Silber side of things. Cloaca, Koyl, & Premature Burial. Will let you know when they are ready to go.
A couple recent reviews below.
M IS WE: FEELS LIKE FIVE DAYS
Silber Records still clings to its 5×5 ep promos: an EP with five minutes music of one band for familiarization. Sometimes this leads to nice EP that grabs our attention and curiosity, which is the intent of these promos off course.
M is We is a band led by the American Michael Wood. The music is a kind of lo-fi post-punk and indie rock in the style of bands like The Pixies, Ride, The Fall… You understand that something like that will sound like… well… music to our ears. And indeed we hear five Impressions that make us yearn for more. From the experimental and weird opener Three Hour Wait, 30 Second Ride to the more Pixies-rocker Tired and you would swear that Kim Deal is playing the bass.
Princess Frown is an unadulterated punk scream trying to kick stand. Okay, it’s all lo-fi, but it has a heart and a soul. And is that not the foundation for good music?
~ Wim Guillemyn, Peek A Boo
THORN1: THE LEAVE OF LEAVES
This time we didn’t get a 5×5 release by Silber Records, but a full album. The project Thorn 1 is the brainchild of Evgeny Zheyda from West Siberia. Ten years ago he started his project and on The Leave of Leaves he presents music that floats between post-rock, drone pop, slowcore and post-punk. That’s a lot of genres, but these are the elements that characterize his music.
Opener and title track The Leave of Leaves is a long drawn out and introverted track which captivates until the end. The track sounds a bit dark and obscure. Lorca sounds more cheerful and playful because Zheyda introduces a melodic percussion instrument. I think it is a marimba.
Maybe it is due to the isolation in distant Siberia, but the sadness is present in nearly every song. Listen to Stun, a track that lasts for about ten minutes. The vocals by Zheyda are quiet, frugal and almost meditative. 14-40 is a cover and almost sounds as a singer-songwriter track. The Russian language adds an exotic touch to the atmosphere. Strings are used (synth), as in Minus Mercury, and they bring serene heat to the song. Don’t think of strings as they are used in lavish and emotional pop songs.
Thorn 1 is a very pleasant surprise wit anh original and unique sound and strong compositions. Very nice!
~ Wim Guillemyn, Peek A Boo
DYR FASER: DYR FASER
Dyr Faser manage to cover all manner of soundscapes and vibes in this 5 minute EP with a massive array of curious and confronting sounds that will take you on a deep dark cave-live journey. There are elements of post-punk, electronic, industrial, and psyceldelica mixed together here, all working together to create a thick atmosphere.
‘Just a face’ is a chilling electro/punk offering. Full of thick atmosphere and a curious eastern twist it paves the way towards a deep dark journey. ‘Until then you’ lifts the energy. Sounding somewhere between Nine Inch Nails and early Cure there is a confronting and menacing feel felt throughout. ‘To be desired’ brings in a cool if not creepy psychedelic vibe into the sound creating an airy haze. ‘Only the dark’ sees some no wave / shoe-gazer elements creep in courtesy of a slow and hypnotic guitar that lulls you into submission before leaving you behind. The EP closes in a slightly chilled out fashion with the slow ‘Take the one’ that soon unravels into oblivion.
This is another great 5in5 EP that crams in some amazing atmosphere and feeling all into 5 minutes!
~ Tomatrax